Monday 24 June 2013 17.43 EDT
First published on Monday 24 June 2013 17.43 EDT

Watching the unconstrained fervour of Indian cricket fans at Edgbaston on Sunday, as they turned the Champions Trophy final against England into a home game, it was hard not to feel strange, disloyal surges. We like cricket in this country, particularly an Ashes Test series, but the Indians really love it.

It seemed to mean so much to them to win the match that it would have been churlish to deprive them of victory. At times some of England's self-destructive batsmen appeared to feel the same way. If not cricket, then what sport do we get fully worked up about? Not so long ago it would obviously have been football but decades of underachievement from all the home nations may have seen that enthusiasm wane. Around this time of year – admittedly only for a fortnight or so – tennis becomes for the British what cricket is for Indians. Fans started queuing on Saturday to gain entry into Monday's play at Wimbledon. That is the kind of demented enthusiasm that one usually sees only when a new iPhone is released.

Wimbledon, in almost every sense so serene and manicured, does have a flair for the histrionic. The French Open's "Sunday Start" – it is even called that in French – can make the opening rounds in Paris drag, while the US Open contorts itself around the preferences of TV schedules, losing momentum in the process. Yesterday, from 11.30am to gone 9pm, there was brilliant tennis in every corner of SW19. The weather was undisruptive without ever threatening to turn pleasant: when the sun came out, it was a strange, heatless one.

The organisers of Wimbledon loaded the schedule for the first day like a Ryder Cup captain desperate to make up points on the final Sunday. Last year's winner, Federer, according to tradition, had the first run-out on Centre Court, entering the stadium in a utilitarian white tunic, a less ostentatious wardrobe selection than in past years.

Is this Austerity Federer? Or perhaps it is a reflection of the increasing mortality he shows on court these days, which led to pre-tournament odds of 7-1 on repeating his success. He might look like a berk if he was thrashed while wearing, say, monogrammed ivory plus fours.

Initially there was more drama from the leading women. The second seed Victoria Azarenka took a heavy fall but hobbled through to the second round in straight sets. Maria Sharapova, the world No3, scrapped to a 7-6, 6-3 victory against Kristina Mladenovic from France. Off-court intrigue came from whether the combative Russian would continue her spat with Serena Williams. The media can be blamed for cultivating, feeding and watering most disputes, but this one has an energy of its own, nurtured by two individuals who really don't like each other. Sharapova, however, kept her counsel in the post-match interviews and that should be that, unless the pair meet in the final.

Aside from Murray there was little to cheer about for home patriots. Elena Baltacha's singles adventure was over by 12.54pm as she lost in straight sets to Flavia Pennetta. A sign of the times: Kyle Edmund, aged 18, from Beverley in Yorkshire via South Africa, is the only teenager in the men's draw. Well, he was until he lost to the 24th seed, Jerzy Janowicz 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. When Johanna Konta followed not long afterwards, a wag suggested taking bets on the first Briton to win a set.

If there were similar reservations from the home support they never showed it, even as results – James Ward, then Anne Keothavong – continued to go against them. British tennis fans get a bad rap, depicted as union flag-clad dementors, but personal experience is that they are knowledgeable and passionate, almost without fail. Manchester City supporters take pride from their impressive attendances when the club dropped into the lower divisions. Wimbledon is eternally full, always has been and will be, no matter whether a Briton stands a chance.

So that is settled then: tennis is our new national sport. And perhaps – like watching India in the cricket on Sunday – the rest of the world will see the passion British people have and be OK with us winning, too. It is a long shot but Murray rolls on and we should find out more when Laura Robson and Heather Watson make their first appearances at Wimbledon 2013 on Tuesday.